These zucchini boats are just down right deliciously easy. They are a gluten free & low carb recipe that the whole entire family will love. The filling is one of those fillings that you can just stand over the stove top and finish it off before even stuffing these babies! This recipe is not only easy to make, but is also great to make the stuff ahead to meal prep & then you can throw this together even quicker during the week. Basically theses truly are The Best Gluten Free Zucchini Boats and I am so excited for them to be your new favorite!
Just How Easy are The Best Gluten Free Zucchini Boats?
After you slice the Zucchini and core out the “boats” the filling is as easy as 1, 2 , 3 ! Also try making the stuffing during the weekend. Store in an air tight container so it is ready for an even faster dinner to get on the table for you and your family. Then all you have to do is cook the zucchinis, stuff & broil!
Slice your zucchini boats length wise. Spray baking dishes (using a small one to show in pictures easier). Using a small spoon scoop out center seeds, without going through all the flesh & the bottom, as seen here. Spray with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper & oregano. Then bake at 375 for 23 minutes.
While the zucchini boats are cooking you will make the super easy zucchini boat filling. Cooking dow the meat with onions, garlic and seasoning
Add tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes let simmer. Then add in cream cheese, mix well. Then it will be ready to portion into boats
Are Zucchini Boats just a “Fad”?
I think that when we see recipes where we are stuffing peppers or zucchinis as a “low carb” recipe we are saying carbs are bad or NEED to be cut out of our diet to be “healthy.” That might be some recipe creators intentions, but that is NOT what HGHF is wanting to get across here. HGHF is all about balanced diets & having a recipe that works for everyone. Zucchini’s are more than just a way to have a lower carb recipe, these are stuffed in zucchini boats because they are just so darn good & good for you!
Where did zucchinis come from?
Zucchini’s are thought to have had ancestors dating back 7000 + years ago, native to what is now Mexico and South America. It wasn’t until European Colonization of the americas that it was brought to what is now the United States. Therefore Eurpe cultivated it years ago, that is why you will also hear it called squash or courgette. The word courgette comes from the French word for vegetable. However, zucchini’s are actually NOT a vegetable… yes you heard me right. We have another controversial vegetable that is actually a fruit, like our good friend the tomato.
Is a zucchini a fruit or vegetable?
Well a zucchini has seeds and develops from flowers of planet. That is botanically considered a fruit, however this fruit is treated like a vegetable. It is picked immaturely because as it grows older it actually looses it great taste. Whether we call it a fruit or vegetable, it tastes great and incredibly great for you. There are so many healthy benefits to eating zucchini’s.
6 reasons you should be adding zucchini to your daily diet:
- Rich in nutrients, nutrients that help aid in healthy eyesight for example
- High in anxtioidants
- Helps regulate healthy blood sugar & heart health
- Helps to maintain healthy weight loss
- Easy to add into your diet as a side dish or main meal
- Promotes a healthy digestive system because of its wat4er content and both the insoluble & soluble fibers
Other HGHF Recipes that you need to try for EASY dinner
Easy Oven Baked Chicken Parmesan
Simple Low Carb Cheesy Cauliflower Nachos
Easy Copy Cat Dewey’s House Salad
Quick Guacamole Black Bean Burger
Common Questions When Making The Best Gluten Free Zucchini Boats
What is the best way to store The Best Gluten Free Zucchini Boats?
The best way to store them after you have cooked them is an air tight container for 3 to 5 days in the refrigerator. I will just zap them in the microwave the next day or heat up at 350 in the oven until heated through.
Can I freeze the stuffing to make for a later meal?
Yes! Just take the stuffing 2 days before you are planning on making it then you can cut the zucchini’s and stuff like normal and follow the directions. Just bake for with stuffing and cheese 10 minutes & then 5 minutes broil. Same goes for if you haven’t frozen it and have stuffing left in fridge to use.
How do a thicken the stuffing before adding them to the zucchini?
If you are stuffing right away the stuffing won’t be super thick. If you make the stuffing first & let it sit the whole 23 minutes that the zucchini’s cook that will do it. However, it works perfect in the boats because even if the stuffing is still a bit thinner, the boats cradle it and it heats up perfectly in the oven.
Can I stuff other things like peppers, or put the stuffing onto noodles?
Sure!! This stuffing is one of my favorites for anything honestly, once you have it, you will be coming up with so many ways to make it again!
How long do The Best Gluten Free Zucchini Boats last in the fridge?
The zucchini boats last 3 to 5 days in the refrigerator and same goes for just the stuffing.
The Best Gluten Free Zucchini Boats
Ingredients
- 8-10 large zucchinis a lot of times it is hard to find large ones in large quantities, so I just pick the biggest I can find
- 1 8 oz block of cream cheese
- 1 cup of shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
- 1 pound Italian chicken sausage out of the casing
- 1/2 pound Spicy Italian chicken sausage out of the casing
- 14.5 oz Chopped Roasted tomatoes
- 8 oz tomato sauce
- 2 large cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 chopped yellow onion
- 2 tbsp olive oil plus a little extra for the zucchini boats
- 1 tsp oregano or pizza seasoning plus a little extra for the zucchini boats
- 1/2 tsp salt plus a little extra for the zucchini boats
- 1/4 tsp pepper plus a little extra for the zucchini boats
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Spray two large baking dishes with avocado oil or olive oil. Cut each zucchini in half long ways. Then scoop out the zucchini boats seeds & middle. TIP: Hold it so that you are cradling both the top & bottom, so that the zucchini doesn't snap in half while you are scooping.
- Then place zucchinis in the pans you sprayed as seen below. It is helpful to really squeeze them in so they cradle each other & don't fall over. Then spray the zucchinis with olive oil, & sprinkle oregano or pizza seasoning on top, as well as salt/pepper.
- Bake at 375 for 23 minutes. While they are baking get your stuffing ready.
- In a large frying pan add in yellow onion chopped, 2 cloves garlic minced & 2 tbsp olive oil. Heat on medium high heat for 2-3 minutes to brown the onion & garlic. Then add in both chicken sausages out of the casing.
- Turn down to medium heat & keep breaking apart into small pieces until little to no pink. Then add in the 1 tsp of oregano or Frontier Co-Op pizza seasoning, 1/2 tsp salt & 1/4 tsp pepper. Stir until well combined, cook for another minute.
- Then add in tomato sauce & crushed roasted tomatoes. Turn to medium high heat again & stir in the sauce & crushed tomatoes, until everything is incorporated. Then bring mixture to a simmer for 5 minutes. Then after the 5 minutes, break apart the 8 oz of cream cheese over the top of the mixture. Then let it melt in to the yummy stuffing as you stir in the cream cheese until full meted & mixed. Let simmer for 5 minutes again.
- Take your stuffing off heat to have it start to thicken a bit. It is okay if you don't have time to do that. When you stuff your boats just scoop out your meat mixture with the liquid it will still be great the boats will cradle any liquid and its okay if they go over a bit. If you reserve stuffing you will see it will thicken the next day and I will have instructions for how to heat when you have prepped the mixture.
- After 23 minutes is up, divide stuffing in evenly to all the zucchinis. Sprinkle with cheese. Then bake in oven 5 minutes and then switch to high broil for 5 minutes. Then serve!
Delicious!! Great alternative for a pizza craving! This was a perfect weeknight dinner. The recipe was super easy to follow and didn’t take much time at all!
Ah yay Erin!! Thank you so much for making this dish and leaving a review. This is one of my favorites, so excited to get it out there for you guys!! So glad you loved it!!
So good! & a great way to sneak in some veggies!
Yay!!! Thank you!! I am so glad you loved them!!